Chapter 5: The Flash Drive
By the time Wolf reached Ava's school, darkness had settled over Louisville.
He wasn't alone.
Officer Daniels drove the unmarked SUV.
Ava sat in the back.
Ray followed on his motorcycle.
Two state police investigators met them at the entrance.
No chances.
Not anymore.
The assistant principal unlocked the building.
Their footsteps echoed through empty hallways.
Ava had walked these corridors hundreds of times.
Tonight, every shadow looked wrong.
They reached her locker.
She opened it.
Books.
A hoodie.
Old worksheets.
Nothing unusual.
“Nameplate,” Wolf reminded her.
Ava touched the small metal plate inside the door.
It looked permanent.
But when she slid a fingernail beneath one corner, it shifted.
Her breath caught.
She pulled.
A tiny flash drive dropped into her palm.
Daniels exhaled.
“Your mom wasn't lying.””
Wolf looked at him.
“Nobody said she was.””
Daniels nodded.
“Fair.””
They took the drive to a secure police office rather than opening it on a school computer.
Ava sat beside Wolf as a state investigator connected it to an isolated laptop.
Folders appeared.
BANK.
CURTIS.
COLE.
REBECCA.
MIKE.
And one folder labeled:
IF I DISAPPEAR.
Ava stared at it.
“Open that.””
The investigator clicked.
Video.
Sarah appeared on screen.
Healthy.
Nervous.
Recorded six months earlier.
“If Ava or Noah is watching this, I'm sorry.””
Ava grabbed Wolf's sleeve.
Sarah continued.
“I've discovered that Detective Raymond Cole altered information in your father's crash report.””
Documents appeared.
Photographs.
Tire marks.
A witness statement.
Wolf leaned forward.
The official report claimed Mike had lost control on wet pavement.
But the witness described a black pickup striking Mike's car from behind.
The witness's statement never appeared in the final file.
Ava whispered:
“Curtis had a black pickup.””
Daniels nodded grimly.
The video continued.
“Curtis was driving behind Mike. But there was another vehicle.””
A photograph appeared.
Black sedan.
Rebecca's.
Ava stared.
Sarah explained.
“Rebecca called Mike that night and warned him Curtis was coming.””
Wolf understood.
Rebecca hadn't been helping Curtis.
She'd been chasing them.
Trying to reach Mike first.
Sarah's recorded voice continued.
“After Mike died, Rebecca told me Curtis threatened her. She left Kentucky because she believed Cole would arrest her if she spoke.””
Ava frowned.
“Then why was she with Curtis three days ago?””
Nobody knew.
The next folder contained bank transfers.
Curtis had siphoned money from the Bennett family estate.
Not thousands.
$640,000.
Fake invoices.
Shell companies.
Cash withdrawals.
Payments to Raymond Cole.
The room grew quiet.
Daniels leaned toward the screen.
“There.””
Monthly transfers.
$5,000.
Sometimes $10,000.
For almost two years.
Wolf said, “Dirty cop.””
Daniels's jaw tightened.
“Looks that way.””
Ava stared at the numbers.
“Curtis sold Dad's things even though he had all that money?””
Wolf understood what hurt her.
It hadn't been necessity.
Curtis hadn't sold Mike's watch because Ava needed food.
He'd sold it because he could.
Daniels opened the REBECCA folder.
Messages appeared.
Most were between Sarah and Rebecca.
Rebecca begging Sarah to leave Louisville.
Rebecca saying Curtis was becoming unstable.
Rebecca warning that Cole had access to police databases.
Then one message stood out.
Sent five days before Sarah disappeared.
I FOUND THE ORIGINAL CRASH VIDEO.
Ava leaned closer.
“What video?””
The next message:
A gas station camera caught everything. Cole said the footage was corrupted. It wasn't.
Wolf felt a surge of hope.
“Where is it?””
The final message from Rebecca read:
I hid a copy somewhere Curtis will never willingly go.
No location.
No explanation.
Ava groaned.
“That's it?””
The investigator searched.
Nothing.
Then Daniels's phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed immediately.
“When?””
He listened.
“Keep him isolated.””
Wolf stood.
“What?””
Daniels ended the call.
“Curtis wants to talk.””
“Why?””
“He heard we're searching for Cole.””
Ava's expression hardened.
“So?””
“He says Cole is going to kill Rebecca.””
Wolf looked at the REBECCA folder.
“When did he last see her?””
“Three days ago.””
“At the storage unit.””
“Yes.””
Ava stood.
“Then he knows where she is.””
Daniels nodded.
“That's what we're going to find out.””
Curtis sat in an interview room downtown.
No swagger now.
No expensive confidence.
His face was bruised from the pawn shop confrontation, and his hands trembled around a paper cup.
Daniels entered with a state investigator.
Wolf and Ava watched through glass.
Curtis immediately asked:
“Where's Sarah?””
Daniels sat.
“Alive.””
Curtis closed his eyes.
Relief crossed his face.
It looked genuine.
That complicated things.
“And Noah?””
“Alive.””
Curtis breathed out.
Daniels leaned forward.
“Why was Sarah locked in your storage unit?””
Curtis stared at the table.
“I didn't put her there.””
“Who did?””
“Cole.””
Daniels said nothing.
Curtis looked up.
“You think I'm the monster.””
“You locked a nine-year-old child inside a storage unit.””
Curtis's face twisted.
“I was trying to keep him alive.””
Behind the glass, Ava whispered:
“Liar.””
But Wolf wasn't sure.
Not anymore.
Daniels asked, “Explain.””
Curtis rubbed his wrists.
“Cole called me Friday morning. Said Noah had been asking questions at school about his mom.””
“What questions?””
“He'd told a teacher he thought I knew where Sarah was.””
“So you kidnapped him?””
“No!””
Curtis hit the table.
“I took him to Sarah.””
“Why?””
“Because Cole said he'd handle him if I didn't.””
The room went cold.
Daniels leaned forward.
“Handle?””
Curtis looked sick.
“You know what that means.””
Wolf's jaw clenched.
Curtis continued.
“I thought if Noah stayed with Sarah, Cole wouldn't know where he was.””
“You locked him inside.””
“Because Cole arrived!””
Curtis's voice cracked.
“I panicked.””
Daniels didn't soften.
“You left two people trapped.””
“There was water. Food. A phone.””
“The phone barely worked.””
“I was going back!””
“Three days later?””
Curtis lowered his head.
Daniels changed direction.
“Did you kill Michael Bennett?””
Curtis looked up sharply.
“No.””
“Were you driving behind him?””
“Yes.””
“Did you hit his car?””
Silence.
Ava stopped breathing.
Curtis finally whispered:
“Yes.””
She made a broken sound.
Wolf put a hand on her shoulder.
Inside the room, Daniels remained still.
“You killed him.””
“No.””
“You just admitted—”
“I hit his car.””
Curtis's eyes filled.
“But I didn't mean to.””
He covered his face.
“We were arguing. He had proof I'd stolen money. I was scared.
I followed him. I wanted him to pull over.””
“So you rammed him?””
“One time.””
Curtis began crying.
“He spun. Hit the barrier.””
Ava turned away from the glass.
Wolf wanted to smash through it.
But Curtis continued.
“I stopped.””
Daniels stared.
“What happened?””
“I ran toward his car.””
Curtis looked up.
“Mike was alive.””
Wolf froze.
Ava slowly turned back.
“What?””
Curtis couldn't hear her.
He kept speaking.
“He was hurt, but alive.””
Daniels leaned forward.
“Then how did he die?””
Curtis's face changed.
“Cole arrived.””
Silence.
“He told me to leave.””
Daniels's expression became unreadable.
“What did Cole do?””
“I don't know.””
“You left your injured brother-in-law with him?””
“I was terrified!””
“You left.””
“Yes.””
“When did you learn Mike died?””
“Next morning.””
Daniels sat back.
Curtis wiped his face.
“Cole told me the crash killed him.””
Wolf's eyes narrowed.
If that was true, the accident might not have been what killed Mike.
Daniels asked:
“Where's Rebecca?””
Curtis looked toward the observation glass as if somehow sensing Ava behind it.
“She came back because she found something.””
“The crash video?””
Curtis nodded.
“She said she wanted to give it to Sarah.””
“Where is it?””
“I don't know.””
“What happened at the storage unit?””
“Rebecca met me there. She thought I had Sarah somewhere else.””
“Then Cole arrived?””
“Yes.””
“Before or after Rebecca?””
“Before.””
Noah's account matched.
“What did Rebecca give you?””
Curtis hesitated.
“An envelope.””
“Containing?””
“A photograph.””
“Of what?””
Curtis swallowed.
“Cole.””
Daniels frowned.
“Doing what?””
Curtis looked genuinely frightened now.
“Standing beside Mike's car after the crash.””
Wolf leaned closer to the glass.
Curtis continued.
“Mike was visible through the windshield.””
Daniels asked:
“Alive?””
“Yes.””
“How can you tell?””
“Because his hand was against the glass.””
Ava covered her mouth.
Curtis whispered:
“And Cole was holding a syringe.””
The room went silent.
Daniels stood.
“Where's that photograph?””
Curtis shook his head.
“Cole took it from me.””
“Where's Rebecca?””
“I don't know.””
Daniels slammed both hands onto the table.
“THINK.””
Curtis flinched.
“She said she was going somewhere Curtis Hale would never go.””
Daniels frowned.
“You are Curtis Hale.””
“I know.””
“What does that mean?””
Curtis stared at the table.
Then his face changed.
“Oh God.””
“What?””
Curtis stood.
“I know where she hid the crash video.””
“Where?””
May you like
Curtis looked toward the glass.
“At Mike's grave.””
